The story for men’s Division III in 2025 is one of growth and change as the landscape continues to change and more teams become competitive. The tall trees that once covered the forest have been felled, allowing other programs that had been laying down strong roots to finally reach for the sunlight themselves.
Last year’s champions Wayne State? Gone. Perennial New England powerhouse Babson? Moved up to DI-AA. The field has been cleared just as almost every region of the country has become more competitive through consolidation and smart program building. But which teams are in the best position to take advantage of this new era in DIII competition? The answer to that question begins in the Midwest with Slippery Rock University.
The Rock Rugby program has been reborn under head coach Matt Heasley and announced themselves by kicking the door down and coming out of nowhere to win a CRC National Championship title in 2024. They looked like a potential contender last Fall, but fell to eventual champs Wayne State in the Regional Finals. Slippery Rock retains all four of their core group of players in Zach Herrington and Aiden O’Shea (both All-Americans) along with Chase Nething and Alex Harbison, and they’ve already started off strong in 2025 with a 51-14 win over Pitt in preseason action.
Slippery Rock is forged in fire every year as they play strong competition in the ARU. Look for other talented programs like Franciscan, John Carroll, and Xavier to give Rock Rugby a run for their money and potentially make deep playoff runs themselves. Also, look out for University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire coming out of the Great Midwest. The Blugolds lost to Slippery Rock by just two points at Regionals in 2024 and are coming off of an impressive sevens National Championship-winning performance at this year’s Collegiate Rugby Championships. All-American Luke Pugh returns for his senior season to lead this dark horse contender.
The teams that are best positioned to challenge SRU will most likely come out of the South. Duke University, third place finishers at Nationals last Fall, are the top-ranked team in the newly-merged Southern Rugby Conference. SoCon absorbed the former Cardinals Rugby Conference, adding programs like Christendom, University of Richmond, and VMI to an already strong group featuring teams like College of Charleston, Western Carolina, and The Citadel.
The Blue Devils, led by crossover athlete River Hanson, went on a tear through last year’s Regional round of the playoffs scoring 96 points combined against Susquehanna and Catholic before falling to eventual runners up Holy Cross at Nationals. A rematch between Duke and John Solomon’s always dangerous Catholic University squad in this year’s playoffs would be must-see TV. But Christendom and All-American Jimmy Coffey might have enough talent to disrupt that trajectory, and you can never count out other MARC teams like Susquehanna, with All-American Colin Butler, and Loyola Maryland.
The talent level continues to rise out West as well, with several contenders ready to make some noise in Houston.. Last year’s fourth-place finishers, Colorado School of Mines, are looking to prove that their scrappy run through the region was not a fluke. Led by All-American Max Cisneros, as well as All-Star Zane Sokolowski, Mines knocked off MiraCosta College, Cal Poly Humboldt, and New Mexico Tech to earn their bid to Nationals. Humboldt, ranked sixth, and NMT, with All-American Akongnwi Chugong, will be out for revenge while teams like Denver University and Western Oregon will look to make their presence felt. The addition of several teams from the Lonestar Conference in Texas is also sure to spice things up.
The East will also be strong again this season as well, with three teams cracking the Preseason Top 10 rankings. Endicott is the highest ranked of the three, looking for some more continuity in its second year under head coach Dan Jeffery. Providence returns All-American Kevin Kirklin for his senior season and will look to grow even more this season after a few down years. The Black Friars will take on Holy Cross under the lights on Friday Night Rugby this Fall as both sides presumably battle for the top spot in the NERFU Conference. The Crusaders have slipped all the way to Number 10 in the rankings despite losing a close game in the finals to Wayne State. Losing All-American Jackson Evarts along with a talented senior class has certainly factored into that ranking, but it may just light a fire under the scrappy team from Worcester, MA.
